


of home runs and hauteur

by leviathans_watching



Series: TsukiHina Weekend 2020 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (minor) head injury, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Baseball, Ambiguous/Open Ending, BAMF Hinata Shouyou, Badass Hinata Shouyou, M/M, Swearing, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a Good Friend, adult characters, baseball AU, center fielder Hinata, friendly rivals, short stop Tsukishima Kei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26374096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leviathans_watching/pseuds/leviathans_watching
Summary: “You’re probably one of those dime a dozen centers with a big head, aren’t you?”Hinata looked between Daichi and Kageyama, the latter who was staring at him challengingly. With a tilt of his head, Daichi gave Hinata permission to fight back. “Oh yeah? Pitch to me, then.”Kageyama laughed. “Good luck beating Asahi or Daichi. They’re our best batters.”They made their way to the dugout, where Hinata dug out his bat, gloves, and helmet. He took the batter’s stance beside home plate, ready for the pitch. Kageyama was well known in baseball; his fastballs were freaky fast and packed a lot of heat behind them.The first one whizzed past Hinata. “Strike one!” Tanaka called from the sideline.Re-adjusting, Hinata replayed the pitch in his head. Once confident, he motioned for the throw.With a satisfying crack! The ball was up, heading into the empty stands. Someone whistled.“Home run. That right there was a home run,” Suga called to Kageyama, who growled.“A fluke, that’s all!” Kageyama growled. Hinata smirked.“One more, then!”*Hinata's the newest addition to the Karasuno Baseball team.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: TsukiHina Weekend 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919251
Comments: 2
Kudos: 153
Collections: Tsukihina Weekend 2020





	of home runs and hauteur

**Author's Note:**

> This is for TsukiHina Weekend being run by the lovely mods at [tsukihinafanweek](https://tsukihinafanweek.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Day 2 prompts used: Different Sport
> 
> I commisioned the amazing [gentle_goliath](https://www.instagram.com/gentle_goliath/) for the art in this please check her out!!
> 
> NOTE: this takes place when they are adults, which is why Hinata is good right off the bat (pun intended) and a little cockier. Think of him as kind of like MSBY Hinata (ish) 
> 
> If you're worried about the injury mentioned in the tags, check out the end notes where I glossed over it. It's pretty minor and I didn't go into much detail, but yeah

Hinata shuffled nervously, standing before Coach Ukai, who was appraising him. Eventually, Ukai nodded, huffing out a chuckle. “Welcome to the team, kid.”

Hinata followed Ukai back looking out the windows out to the pitch. The team he was joining was already out there, practicing. He was already in practicing clothes and noticing this, Ukai took him straight outside, skipping the stop to the locker room.

“Everyone, this is our new center fielder, Hinata Shouyou.” All of the guys practicing stopped what they were doing. “Hinata, this is the team.”

“Hi! I’m Hinata. It’s very nice to meet you all! It’s an honor to play on this team!” Hinata moved his gaze around the team. They had all moved forward, forming a line in front of him and Ukai.

“It’s nice to meet you.” A tall, broad man stepped forward to shake his hand. “I’m Sawamura Daichi, resident catcher and captain of Karasuno. I go by Daichi.” He had a firm handshake and Hinata returned the force enthusiastically.

“I’m Sugawara Koushi, but call me Suga. I play right field. This is Azumane Asahi. He plays left.” Hinata stared at Suga for a moment, struck by how refreshing the guy already seemed. When he turned to Azumane, he didn’t expect to see a hulking guy with a beard and was taken aback. The scary image immediately dissipated when he raised his hand in a timid wave.

“Please call me Asahi.”

“I’m Nishinoya Yuu! I go by Noya though. I play first base!” A shorter guy puffed out his chest, squaring his jaw.

“Whoa! You’re shorter than me!” Hinata exclaimed. The guy stared at him challengingly, and Hinata backtracked. “Sorry, I just don’t meet many short professional athletes. Well, many who are shorter than me. Your hair is super awesome, though!”

Noya brightened. “You think so? Everyone here thinks it’s stupid!”

“Bro!” A bald man gasps. “I think it’s awesome!”

“Oh, yeah,” Noya grinned. “Tanaka thinks it’s cool.”

The bald man, Tanaka, stepped forward, a sneer on his face. “I’m the 2nd baseman. You sure you’re up for this? Baseball is a grueling sport.”

“Tanaka,” Daichi warned. “Sorry about him. He gets a little over-zealous sometimes.”

“It’s cool! Tanaka seems really scary! I bet the other teams are intimidated by him.”

“Ha!” Tanaka cheered. “I like you shorty!”

“Uh, thanks,” Hinata said, accepting the new nickname.

“I’m Kiyoko Shimizu and this is Yachi Hitoka. We’re managers,” a pretty girl said, walking up with a younger-looking blonde behind her. Hinata smiled warmly at them.

“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi.” A shy looking guy in the back raised his hand. “I play third. This is Tsukishima Kei, who’s the shortstop.”

Hinata examined the tall guy in front of him, who had a slight scowl on his face and a hand on his cocked hip. “Shortstop? That’s amazing! You must be really good!”

“It’s whatever.” Tsukishima dismissed the praise, rolling his eyes. Hinata felt a stab of hurt he quickly ignored, after all, not everyone liked his exuberant personality.

“I’m Kageyama. Kageyama Tobio.” A dark-haired man stepped forward, eyes boring through Hinata. “I’m the pitcher. You better be good at outfielding. I don’t play with players who can’t play.” Hackles raised, Hinata balled his fist.

“Excuse me?”

Kageyama folded his arms across his chest. “I said what I said. If you can’t play, get off the field.”

“Oh, just because you’re a pitcher you think you’re so good, huh?” Hinata asked, and Kageyama scoffed.

“Think I’m good? I am good!”

“Kageyama and Hinata, we need to get practice started,” Daichi interfered, and Hinata stepped back, trying to be respectful to his new captain, but Kageyama continued to push.

“You’re probably one of those dime a dozen centers with a big head, aren’t you?”

Hinata looked between Daichi and Kageyama, the latter who was staring at him challengingly. With a tilt of his head, Daichi gave Hinata permission to fight back. “Oh yeah? Pitch to me, then.”

Kageyama laughed. “Good luck beating Asahi or Daichi. They’re our best batters.”

They made their way to the dugout, where Hinata dug out his bat, gloves, and helmet. He took the batter’s stance beside home plate, ready for the pitch. Kageyama was well known in baseball; his fastballs were freaky fast and packed a lot of heat behind them.

The first one whizzed past Hinata. “Strike one!” Tanaka called from the sideline.

Re-adjusting, Hinata replayed the pitch in his head. Once confident, he motioned for the throw.

With a satisfying _crack!_ The ball was up, heading into the empty stands. Someone whistled.

“Home run. That right there was a home run,” Suga called to Kageyama, who growled.

“A fluke, that’s all!” Kageyama growled. Hinata smirked.

“One more, then!”

The next several throws all were sent to either the edges of the outfield or over the fence. Hinata then shifted slightly, forcing Kageyama to throw slightly different than the pattern he had been accustomed to. Those all get sent back as powerful line drives, just slightly out of Kageyama’s reach.

“Okay!” Kageyama finally said, huffing in frustration. “I get it!”

Hinata hung his bat, pulling off his helmet.

“Those were some impressive hits, shorty.” Tanaka slid down next to him, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect that from you.”

“No one does, really,” Hinata shrugged. “Especially since I’m relatively unknown. But let me let you in on a little secret. That’s not my only talent.”

“What do you mean?” Tanaka leaned forward, interested.

“You’ll find out,” Hinata teased, winking. Daichi called them all together then, cutting their conversation short. 

“Okay, since we’ve all seen how well Hinata can bat, I want to try a scrimmage, 6 on 6, five innings. That means you guys are in, Ennoshita, Narita, Kinoshita. We’ll be doing Hinata, Tsukishima, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Suga, and me versus the rest of you. We’ll be outfielding first. Figure out your positions amongst yourself, okay?”

The first four innings passed about equally, both teams giving it their all. Hinata had begun analyzing his teammates and their playing styles. Yamaguchi wasn’t the best batter but could throw and catch well, Noya was quick, but also theatric, Tsukishima possessed a shit-ton of skill but didn’t put too much effort in. No one hit anything too hard to get, which was a little disappointing. Then Asahi stepped up.

Hinata squared his shoulders, exhaling. Asahi looked more determined than he had before, a concentrated look on his face (or Hinata assumed, home plate was pretty far away from where he was). There were two outs already and no one on base, so if Hinata managed to get this, his team would win the scrimmage.

Suga, who was apparently a pitcher at one point was standing in as theirs. He and Asahi watched each other for a moment before Suga whipped the ball forward in a deadly curveball. Strike one. The ball hit Daichi’s glove with a pleasing smack. Then there was a ball. It got to two strikes, three balls. The last pitch was thrown. Asahi swing with power, connecting with the ball. It went up, up and out towards Hinata.

“I’ve got it!” Hinata yelled, turning around to race back, keeping one eye on the ball. They reached the fence at the same time. Hinata leaped up, one arm outstretched. The ball landed in his glove and he used his momentum to push off the wall, landing in a roll.

“Game over!” He called, holding the ball up triumphantly when he stood again. Everyone just gaped at him. “What?”

“Hinata… that was a super high jump,” Daichi said slowly, and a grin curved over Hinata’s lips.

“Was it? Well there’s your reason I’m on this team,” Hinata chirped, jogging back to the infield. As he passed Tsukishima, who was watching him with narrowed eyes, he winked, tossing the ball lightly at him.

*

Tsukishima wondered how he got to where he was. His newest teammate, Hinata, was really testing his patience. For all of his talent in batting and catching, he was average in throwing. Below average, if Tsukishima was feeling particularly frank.

So what did Takeda decide to do about that? Pair him with Tsukishima, because he was apparently the best one to teach him how to control his throws.

The main problem with Hinata was that he lacked in consistancy. One throw would be perfectly aimed, hitting Tsukishima’s glove solidly, and the next would be a stretch to catch, even with Tsukishima’s lanky form.

“Sorry!” Hinata called, winching as the ball sailed over Tsukishima’s head. Again. As he jumped to catch it, he wondered how Hinata had made it to professional baseball.

As Tsukishima tossed it back halfheartedly, he sighed, watching Hinata make an impressive dive to get it. With moves like those, he could almost rival Noya.

The next throw was almost on course.

“Why can’t he rely on muscle memory?” Tsukishima wondered out loud, trying to come up with a new idea. For him, one throw was just like the next. He barely had to think about what he was doing as his arm snapped forward, sending the ball right to Daichi at home plate. “Okay, this isn’t working,” Tsukishima called and Hinata came trotting over.

“What’s up?”

“Well, you have a lot of power behind your throws so I don’t get why you can’t just hit the target square on every time.” Hinata bristled in response to his musings.

“It’s not my fault you’re some machine! You shouldn’t be able to throw that accurately every time! It’s freaky!”

Tsukishima looked down, to where Hinata was squinting up at him, eyes fiery. “You want to talk about freaky? You’re like five feet tall but you can still jump higher than everyone on this team.”

“Oh, shut up! You remind me of Kageyama right now!” Hinata threw his hands up, glove waving through the air.

“Him?” Tsukishima glared. “Never compare me to Kageyama.” His voice was cold.

Hinata stuck his tongue out like a middle schooler. “What are you going to do if I do?” he asked tauntingly, and Tsukishima exhaled roughly, rolling his eyes.

“Whatever, let’s just get back to practice.”

Hinata took his spot in center field, frowning. He caught the ball that Tsukishima lobbed at him, then pointed at Tsukishima. “You piss me off, you know that?” The ball was sent back, straight and powerful into Tsukishima’s glove, weirdly accurate considering Hinata’s track record.

 _Hm._ Tsukishima thought. _Could that really be the solution?_ “You can do better than that! That sucked!” It was a blatant lie, but Hinata didn’t need to know that. If anger could really sharpen his precision, then why not try to capitalize on that?

As Hinata slowly cooled off, his throws became less and less exact. Tsukishima would have to test it a bit more, but it seemed like he had actually made a breakthrough.

*

The team quickly got used to having Hinata on it. Everyone loved him, and even Tsukishima had to admit, he was growing on him. Not that he’d ever express that out loud.

Their relationship was more like a friendly rivalry at this point, which confused Tsukishima. Just a few weeks ago, he had wished with every fiber of his body that Hinata got sent back to whatever sunshine land he had come from, but now, he knew he’d miss him. Miss picking on him, that is.

Their first practice game was today. Takeda had managed to make a deal with Seijou, surprising everyone. Tsukishima wasn’t looking forward to playing against them, but he had heard Oikawa, their pitcher, was out for a bit due to a shoulder injury.

The team had been in overdrive, practicing and practicing, and Tsukishima missed his free time. Yamaguchi was slightly more open to practicing, but that’s just how Yamaguchi was.

“Tsukki, get up, we gotta go,” Yamaguchi called, walking through their living room. He stopped to pick up Tsukishima’s bag. “God, sometimes I hate rooming with you. You take up all of the hot water.” Throwing his bag at him, Yamaguchi pulled his keys off the keyholder, letting a small smile loose as the force of the bag’s impact on Tsukishima’s gut made him let out a quiet “oof”.

Reluctantly, Tsukishima stood. He followed Yamaguchi to his car, sliding into the passenger. It was pushed all of the way forward, completely different than where he usually had it, back as far as it would go to accommodate his long legs.

“Jesus, who was in here?” Tsukishima asked, popping a piece of gum into his mouth.

“Oh, Hinata needed a ride to the train station.”

Tsukishima huffed, sliding the chair back.

When they pulled into the field’s parking lot, they noticed they were the last to get there.

Grabbing his stuff from the back of Yamaguchi’s car, Tsukishima strode towards the changing rooms, where everyone was gathered.

“Sorry, guys, Tsukki was being a slow-poke,” Yamaguchi called cheerfully from behind him, throwing Tuskishima under the bus.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima replied reflexively, ignoring everyone’s chuckle as Yamaguchi apologized lightly.

“Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s get changed then go over Seijoh’s style one more time,” Daichi instructed.

Tsukishima pulled on his navy and orange uniform, throwing his cleats into his bag. He’d put those on when they got to Aoba Johsai. They gathered around the bench as Ukai pulled up the game videos.

*

Hinata played with his fingers as he sat next to Tanaka on the bus. He was nervous about the game, ready to prove himself to everyone in a game against another team, even if it wasn’t an actual game. He definitely wasn’t as nervous as he could have been, though. Compared to his first high school game this was nothing.

“You’re not going to barf on me, are you shorty?” Tanaka asked jokingly, and that broke the tension.

“Of course not!” Hinata looked up, offended. “I’m just excited!”

After that, it was easy to join the light-hearted conversations floating around the bus. When they pulled into the stadium that belonged to Aoba Johsai, Hinata gazed at it in wonder. Sure, their stadium and field were nice, but Seijoh was on another level.

As the bus pulled to a stop, their opponents came out to greet them. There wasn’t much talking, as both teams were ready to get to the game. They were led through the training rooms and to the dugout they were going to be using, which were just as nice as the rest of the facility.

Once everyone was ready, Karasuno prepped to bat as the away team, they stepped out onto the field. Seijoh took their places on the field, a #6 taking the pitcher’s mound instead of Oikawa, who was #1. So Tsukishima’s theory of Oikawa being out of games for a while was true.

Ukai told them the batting order. Hinata was 4th, after Tsukishima. Kageyama was right after Hinata, which Hinata didn’t hesitate to hold over his head.

“Ha, I’m before you,” Hinata needled, poking his tongue out at Kageyama, who scowled.

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“Of course it does! It means I’m better!” Hinata barely avoided the hit aimed at his head.

“Settle down, guys,” Daichi said, sounding tired. Hinata obeyed, settled onto the bench. Asahi, their first batter, stepped up to the plate. A good solid hit on the first pitch let him get to first. Daichi was up next, and at that point, Hinata tensed a little, waiting for his turn to bat.

When Tsukishima stepped up, Hinata made his way to the deck circle, warming up a little. Tsukishima managed to get by with four balls, making the bases loaded. Hinata stretched, tapping the plate with his bat.

A strike. Gritting his teeth, Hinata waited for the next pitch, which he managed to hit. Of course it was a foul. Now at two strikes, Hinata exhaled, waiting for the last pitch. His bat connected. Running as fast as he could, Hinata made it to first, and noticing Tsukishima headed to third, continued on to second.

He was safe. Breathing heavily, he saw rthe scoreboard flash to two in their favor. Good.

Eventually, Seijoh managed to get them out three times, and they were switching to the outfield.

They rotated through the batting lineup once, gargering two outs and a shit-ton of points.

When Iwazumi, #4, stepped up to the plate again, Hinata was ready. He knew from watching the tapes of their past games that he was a powerful hitter and tended to send them over the center fielder’s head. Not this time. When the telltale sound of the bat hitting the ball echoed through the air, Hinata was off, heading towards the edge of the field.

As he flung himself into the air, Hinata knew he couldn’t reach the ball with his gloved hand. Steeling himself for a world of pain, Hinata cought the ball in his non-gloved hand, hissing at the pain. The third out. Holding the ball up in triumph, Hinata tried not to grimace.

“Holy shit, Hinata, your hand!” Noya grabbed Hinata’s hand as soon as he made it back to the dugout. Noya examined the injured palm, poking at the reddest part. “That was badass! You probably couldn’t see everyone’s stunned faces, but I could! They were so surprised it was hilarious!”

Hinata smiled, taking the icepack Kiyoko handed him. “That’s good. I’d like to think that catch was worth it.”

“It was-” and “No it wasn’t-” rung through the air simultaneously. Hinata glared at Tsukishima, who had said it wasn’t.

“You got yourself injured for nothing. What was another point compared to possibly breaking your hand?” Tsukishima asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Aww, Stingyshima! I knew you cared about me,” Hinata cooed, making Tsukishima’s face pinch up as he turned away.

After he was cleared to play again, Hinata watched Asahi bat, waiting for his turn again. When he could go to the deck circle, he did eagerly, admiring Tsukishima’s form. No matter what he tried to say, Tsukishima had a nice body and a fluid playing style.

Distracted, he didn’t notice the foul ball coming his way until it hit him in the head. Hard.

*

Everyone gasped as the ball made contact with Hinata’s helmet. Hinata fell back, groaning. Tsukishima immediately dropped his bat, running over to him. He was conscious, thankfully, but dazed.

Distantly, he heard Daichi telling Iwazumi that the game was over, but he ignored it in favor of checking Hinata’s helmet. Thankfully it wasn’t cracked.

“Hinata, are you okay?” Tsukishima asked, cold facade breaking.

“Shit,” Hinata wheezed, pulling off his helmet. “That hurt.”

“Let’s get you to the infirmary,” Suga cut in, helping Hinata up. Tsukishima trailed behind them, Hinata’s helmet in hid hands. How it got there, he had no idea.

The Aoba Josiah manager led them to the stadium’s infirmary, which was as sleek and fancy as the rest of the building. Hinata took a seat on the plush bench, Suga standing next to him. Tsukishima hovered awkwardly in the doorway, lips pressed together in a thin line.

“I’d better help Daichi with managing the rest of the team. Noya and Tanaka are bound to blame the pitcher for this,” Suga sighed. Tsukishima winced at the implication that he was the one to blame.

Once he was out of the room, it was just him, Hinata, and the manager, who was checking over Hinata.

“I don’t think you have a concussion, but you should probably have someone keeping an eye on you,” she decided, taking a step back. “You’re lucky the ball didn’t hit you in the face.”

Hinata smiled up at her. “I’m sure I’m fine. Thank you for checking me over, though.”

The manager chuckled, handing Hinata an ice pack. “Be careful with that smile, number ten. It’s very bright.” With that, she brushed past Tsukishima, leaving the two of them alone.

“Tsukishima, what are you still doing here?” Hinata asked, pressing the ice pack to his head.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Tsukishima muttered, turning Hinata’s helmet over on his hands. “I was the one to hit you, after all.”

Hinata waved him off. “It was a freak accident, nothing more. Don’t feel bad.”

“I don’t feel bad,” Tsukishima bristled. “I’m merely doing the right thing.”

“Then why follow and do it here?” Hinata pointed out. “You could have done it when I came back to the field. Admit it, you were worried about me.”

Tsukishima scoffed. “Me? Worried about you? Yeah, right.” His chest squeezed uncomfortably, the words tasting like a lie in his mouth.

“You were worried! Stingyshima was worried! You were worried about me!” Hinata sang tauntingly, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

“Fine, yes, I was worried! You could have died because of me!” Tsukishima exploded, and Hinata stopped, eyes wide.

“Died? I think that’s a bit of an overstatement,” he finally said, standing up. “But I appreciate the concern.”

Tsukishima swallowed, wishing he could take the words back. All of his carefully constructed calm was gone, crumbling away like a sandcastle in the waves. He rarely lost control like that, and when he did, it was a bad experience.

“Hey,” Hinata tried, stepping closer. “It’s okay, really.”

Tsukishima shook his head, squishing his eyes shut. When a soft hand touched his cheek, he opened them, jerking his head back.

“Sorry,” Hinata whispered. “What’s bothering you? It’s more than just this, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Just the- the way you crumpled, because of me…” Tsukishima couldn’t even look Hinata in the eye, instead focusing on the edge of his jersey. “It made me feel all of these things that I’ve never felt before.”

Hinata shifted, relaxing slightly. “Yeah, I understand how that feels. If you want we can try to figure out these feelings.”

Tsukishima raised his eyes at that, taking in Hinata. his hair was matted to his forehead, ice pack somewhere on the bench behind him. The flush on his face made his light scattering of freckles pop, and the determined but soft look in his eyes made Tsukishima think Hinata had never looked more (beautiful wasn’t the right word, was it? Neither was ethereal.) present. Like he was there to stay, forever next to him.

“Together?” Tsukishima asked carefully, and Hinata nodded, then winced.

“Together,” Hinata promised with such finality that Tsukishima had no other choice but to believe him.

**Author's Note:**

> Injury: a foul ball hits Hinata in the head. He has a helmet on and is fine save for needing an icepack. 
> 
> tysm for reading! this document deleted when I was halfway done, and I was on a pretty tight schedule, so that freaked me out.... then my WiFi was down... let's just say I'm glad I finished it lmao
> 
> please leave a kudos, comment, bookmark, etc. if you enjoyed!
> 
> check out my tumblr [here](https://leviathans-watching.tumblr.com/)


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